


Viva Las Duo!

by simulacraryn



Series: Cupid thy name is Duo [1]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comedy, DISREGARD FROZEN TEARDROP ENTIRELY, Developing Friendships, Duo as a Justice of the peace, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Family, Gen, Las Vegas Weddings, M/M, Multi, Other, Rare Pairings, Romance, Weddings, vegas verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-08-24 12:17:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8372014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simulacraryn/pseuds/simulacraryn
Summary: AC 199: Wars have ended and Duo makes his choice of not returning to space, but rather acquire an old Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. In his quest of transforming himself from "The God of Death" into the "God of Love" he has enlisted the hand of Relena and Pagan to help with the new business. Now, how does one go about acquiring a Pre Colony Elvis Presley jumpsuit?





	1. Viva Las Vegas!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OriginalCeenote](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OriginalCeenote/gifts), [Noelleian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noelleian/gifts), [Amberly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amberly/gifts), [ClaraxBarton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaraxBarton/gifts), [maevemauvaise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maevemauvaise/gifts), [Elle_Smith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elle_Smith/gifts), [Cyn_Finnegan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyn_Finnegan/gifts), [Crown_of_Winterthorne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crown_of_Winterthorne/gifts).



> So I started a thing with Cx1 that led me into creating the Viva Las Duo 'verse! This is my attempt at some actual comedy, so please bare with me haha. So we will see 'Strict Machine' in here, but first...let me begin the show with Duo's opening act. Bwahaha. Enjoy, Ladies!
> 
>  
> 
> Also, all Elvis Presley references including lyrics and what not belong to his amazing estate.

**All you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel! Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas!**

The early Las Vegas sunrise began to get in the view of his windshield as he pulled into the parking lot of his new acquisition. After the war, Duo Maxwell declined an offer with Preventers, choosing instead to stay on Earth. Scrounging up the money to go to the United States hadn't been an issue since he was working with Howard for the most part in salvaging. There'd been only one thing in his life that he promised himself after the war ended. That Duo would hang up the mantle of the God of Death, _for good_. In his attempts to figure out what to do with his life, it came in a weird dream involving Father Maxwell and a small wedding in L2 he'd been the ring barer to. In truth, Duo had no actual religious beliefs due to a wide array of internal conflicts regarding God, Faith and Religion...

But there'd been one thing about Father Maxwell's profession that did call out to him. The thought of helping people get married was always a curiosity of his and now he was in the right place for it. The gaudily decorated chapel seemed like the right place to begin a new life and start a new path away from the bloodshed of the past. Duo wasn't alone in his venture as another outcast from the war decided to follow him all the way to Las Vegas.

A second car pulled up next to his pick up truck, the u-haul trailer had blocked him last minute from seeing the sensible sedan from pulling up. Duo inwardly scoffed, there was nothing simple about the people in the car. The woman driving it had once been one of the forces to be reckoned with in the world and the other man had been her butler. Duo leaned against his truck, watching as Relena Darlian exited the car and moved to the passengers side to assist her elderly butler and confidant. -”Sorry we're late, renting a car was an awful experience.”

“Tis no problem. Hey Pagan!” - Duo greeted jovially, extending his arm to the older man. - “Good thing the house is right behind the chapel, no stairs to really go through.”

Once they had Pagan inside the house, Relena and Duo began unloading the u-Haul trailer and carrying things into the house. Sure, they could have hired movers, but Duo and Relena both agreed they needed the time to unwind. He was glad that she'd brought Pagan along, as the older man truly had no one to go to. Duo welcomed the presence of that older father figure in his life and knew Relena felt the same. - “Yo, Rel! I'm ordering take out, d'ya want anything?”

“Bourbon Chicken with fried rice for me. Pagan usually gets Beef Lo Mein, but you may wanna ask if he's jonesing for something different.”

He called in the order and headed towards the back porch, pack of cigarettes in one hand and lighter sticking out from his pocket. His only hope was to atone for all his deaths, with love. With his eyes skyward, Duo took a long drag from his clove cigarette… “Father, Sister… ah I hope I make ya proud.”

The flick of another lighter caught his attention, Relena inhaling from what he knew to be a vanilla flavored cigarette did not cause him as much scandal as it'd done at first. Come to think of it, the more time he spent around the woman, the more normal she seemed. He'd been meaning to ask her what compelled her and Pagan to join him in this cockamamy adventure of his, when she had the world at her fingertips.

“I think you make your family proud, Duo.”

He swallowed a sharp lump when the word family had been dropped. Relena really didn't know and he really didn't want to get into the nuances of it with her. When her hand squeezed his shoulder, Duo looked away. - “Rel, ah had no family. Just a kind priest and a nun who...”

“Family's what you make of it, Duo. Blood doesn't mean shit in the end, look at Milliardo and I.” - There's a hint of bitterness to her voice at the mention of her estranged brother. It kinda dawned on him that even though she had what he would have killed for, it'd also been ripped away from her. Yet, he saw how gracefully she handled everything in spite of what happened. - “Do you think so?” - He asked, leaning against the veranda. Relena's body eased into one of the nearby wooden benches that had been built unto the house. 

“I believe so, yes. If it makes you feel better, I struggle with the same. I'm always hoping I make my father proud of me… and I don't mean King Peacecraft. I mean...Dad. You know?”

Ah yes, the identity crisis. “I can kinda get it. I had a brother somewhere along the way, till the damn'd L2 pandemic hit. He died making sure I got the shot needed to survive.”

Relena's eyes watered at the thought of Duo's past, inhaling from her cigarette before speaking: “I'm sorry, I can't imagine how that's like...”

“Fucking awful when they finally get you to an orphanage and no-one really wants to adopt you because you're a no good urchin with a record already to yer name.” - Duo answered flatly, watching as Relena winced. - “But shit's in the past. Now I gotta make this work out, Rel. For their memories, fuck knows they deserved better than a killer.”

“That's why I'm here. To help make it happen.”

A smile crept up on Duo as Relena finished her cigarette, stubbing it out on the veranda. It didn't matter for now, they had so much to do, like repainting the damned thing. “Rel, I know ya didn't needta, but ah appreciate it.”


	2. If I can Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duo educating Relena on Pre-Colony Pop Culture...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Name and Lyrics are credited to Elvis Presley!

**Still I am sure that the answer's gonna come somehow**

The first month after they had moved to the Apartment/Chapel, Duo and Relena put in hard work to renovate and repaint the entire thing. Pagan, albeit being on his older years, provided plenty of support by researching pricing and by finding contractors for the thing neither Duo or Relena could physically do. During one of her thrift store outings, Relena found several things including a barely used sowing machine. She'd brought it back to the apartment, where she took the fourth room and turned it into her workshop. Throughout the week, she'd go to various swap meets and get all sorts of finds. Duo had been surprised when both she and Pagan came back carrying a box of patterns for sowing.

“How many patterns did ya get?” - Duo asked as Relena popped open the box. They both sat on the floor, the cardboard box between them and with it a few plastic boxes, labels and sharpies. Relena grinned as she began to pull the labels out of their packaging. - “I don't know. I got these patterns at a theater yard sale of sorts. I figured we'd need some sort of outfits in case people wanted you dressed up as some character or another for their weddings. Oh!” - Relena paused, pulling a pattern package from the box once it caught her eye.

“This was a pre-colony show about Human Kind exploring outerspace! Many Historians say this was one of the inspirations to take Human Kind into outerspace. These outfits look like they'd be fun to wear.” - Relena held out the packet which read “ _STAR TREK Patterns_ ” out for Duo to peruse at. He soon held it back to her as Relena tagged it with one of the labels and tossed it into one of the plastic drawers she'd placed around her. They continued to go through the boxes, finding a lot of the Vegas Shows being represented in patterns. Relena tossed aside the ones that they both agreed would not sell and soon downsized the collection of “work patterns” versus the “halloween patterns”.

Once they got sorting through most of it, Relena found a pattern and quirked her eyebrow. Duo whom had gone to mess with the music player, letting a low rumble of a pre-colony tune fill the room. He'd noticed Relena fumbling with the pattern package, laughing to herself. He gulped, nervous at whatever she was probably cooking up in her brain. “Rel?”

“Sorry Duo, I found this pattern for a pre-colony artist...” - She paused, extending the packet towards Duo. His eyes bulged as soon as he realized what it was. Being born in an American Colony like L2, meant you were exposed to American history and while most of the street urchins did not go to school… Duo had been blessed by the fact that Sister Helen was an avid music fan. With a wide grin, Duo turned to Relena and said in his deepest voice possible: “Ah babeh, but this right here? This ain't just no pre-colony artist! This is the **King of Rock n' Roll** , an embodiment of Americana.”

Relena's eyebrow quirked and Duo could only manage to facepalm. Of course Relena didn't know who Elvis Presley was. She was European Nobility born into more modern music. Back in L2, most new Earth music wasn't caught until it was a few years too late. Instead, they relied on old pre-colony music and as such, most kids would know the lyrics to say “Under the Boardwalk” than to whatever was popular Earth-side. Sister Helen had gotten Duo into pre-colony wonders like Elvis and Dolly Parton. Old classic movies and together they imagined a simpler world without nearly as much suffering as L2 provided on the regular. - “I'll go digging through my shit, see if I find anything I got of the King.”

“I didn't know Music had a kingdom.”

“Rel, I hope that's you havin' a blonde moment.”

Relena blushed deeply and with it came a revelation to Duo. Relena spent most of her life in politics, not really getting to know popular culture. She'd been done such a huge disservice and Duo knew he had to rectify this whilst they were in Sin City. - “No, they don't.” Duo scooted closer to Relena, turning his body to hers. - “But some people were given the sobriquet of being music royalty due to how popular they were at their time. Like Elvis was the King of Rock n' Roll and Madonna was the Queen of Pop… but quite frankly? Madonna was not my Queen of Pop if you gave me a choice back then. It'd be Cher. Now that lady was classy and a badass...”

“Now I know Madonna means Mother in Italian… But: Who's Cher?”

Goddamnit! Duo facepalmed again, making mental note to pass his music collection over to Rel so that she could get acquainted with the references he was making. In the mean while, he'd need to ask for hers in exchange. That way he'd know what was popular in the current day and age without embarrassing himself. “Come on, let's go to my music collection and let me educate your ass.” - They both struggled off the floor, Relena taking back the Elvis pattern and trying to throw it into the costumes bin. However, Duo turned and shook his head in enough time.

“Oh no, Rel, we're using that pattern! It's a Vegas tradition for Elvis Imitators to marry off people and if we're gonna offer everything, then damn I'm gonna do it the right way. I'll need at least two of those in black, two in silver, one in white and the other two in purple and black.”

Relena took notes, perplexed by Duo's request of seven days worth of Elvis outfits. What in the seven hells did he have planned this time!?


	3. Step into my office, Quatre...

**I'm dreamin' of a White Christmas...**

Renovating took months of hard work between Duo and Relena, if they were not working on getting the actual aesthetics of the Chapel ready for “Wedding Season” (which in Las Vegas was all the time, granted Rel and Duo also held part time work to fund this incursion of theirs) – they were practicing routines. Duo had perfected his Elvis impersonation game and Relena herself began doing impersonations of her own. She'd apparently been a dead ringer for Audrey Hepburn, though to some, she was more Julie Andrews. Relena eventually chose Audrey and began incorporating her into her own act at the Chapel. Or at least her future act, should they choose her as their wedding official.

But with the imminent holidays coming, Relena and Duo had agreed to slow down some and spend the precious time with Pagan and a few other guests. 

“Did you get a hold of Hilde?” - Relena called from the kitchen, where she'd been working on fresh cranberry sauce. Pagan was seated over the small bistro table, chopping carrots and other vegetables for Duo's famous Turkey Roast. - “I did! She'll be getting here tonight, with a few others.”

Duo sauntered into the kitchen, carrying a large turkey. Duo set himself into a corner of the kitchen with the various seasonings Relena and he had picked out, including some generous gifts from Quatre. Christmas music played from the living room, Duo's endless collection ranged from the stalwart classics of Elvis' “Christmas Album” and all the way to the comedic tones of Weird Al. - “Glad to hear she'll be here.” - Pagan mildly added from his place, passing the bowl of carrots to Relena.

“Did she say who else would come?”

“Cat, Tro, Cathy were just some of the names she mentioned. I tried getting a hold of Heero, but you know just how difficult he is.” - Duo's eyes rolled at the mention of Heero. The preventer officer was 'too busy' for everyone, which Duo thought to be absolute trite. However, Relena often forgave the man and simply said that there was no changing Heero. It still infuriated Duo in many ways, especially the look Relena would get whenever he'd let her down. Which, by the way, was often!

“Oh come on, Audrey...” - Duo said with a grin - “You know Grinch-Pants has to be the sour grape of the group. Let's make the best of it, like we always do.”

Relena rolled her eyes, casually sighing. - “I mean, doesn't he realize, I've gotten over him in _that way?_ ” - Teenage years were far behind them, but in many ways, they hadn't truly outgrown some matters. - “I just want us all to remain close, tis all...” - She bemoaned, returning to the task at hand. Duo nodded in certain understanding, jutting a wooden spoon in her direction.

“Stop being blue-sy, won't ya? He'll come the fuck around sometime, or he'll move the stick out of his ass once Cat guilt trips him to kingdom come. Come to think of it, go call Cat and tell him how sad you are...”

Though Duo joked, Relena's face became stern at the way Duo seemed to dismiss her concerns. Analyzing it briefly, she realized that maybe he wasn't truly ignoring her...just trying to lighten the mood.

“Duo...”

“Relax, won't ya? Go take one of those long baths you take and let Pagan and I take it from here.”

*˜*˜*

No snow could be had in the desert, that much Duo and Relena knew when they chose to move to Nevada. Relena often commented on the irony of the state's name, pointing that Nevada meant Snowing in Spanish and now Las Vegas didn't get any of the white stuff. Duo hadn't grown up with snow in the colonies, it hadn't been until he'd come to earth during the war that he'd allotted himself the opportunity to enjoy a 'White Christmas'.

He'd offered to fly out with Relena to Sanq, or even Denmark so that she may enjoy the comforts of Europe. She'd declined, expressing no connection to either country any further. Duo cleaned up, wearing casual slacks with loafers and he was in the process of rolling up his sleeves when the doorbell rang.

“I'll get it!” - Pagan bellowed from the living room, leaving Duo to continue getting ready. Seeing he'd left his bedroom door open, it was no surprise to him that Relena's head poked in. - “You look amazing.” - He complimented the simple look Relena had chosen. Her hair was in a high ponytail, a simple red sheath dress and some comfortable flats to walk around the house. 

“Thank you. I was just coming by to see if you needed help with your braid.”

“I got it this time, _without clogging the drain_ if that's what you're worried about...”

“Duo, last time the plumber came...”

“He had a serious case of stinky breath and plumber's crack that I hope to never see again. I promise, I'm checking the damn thing myself...why couldn't they send a cute plumber, like in the porno flicks.”

“ **Duo! Relena! We're here!** ”

The sound of Hilde’s dulcet tones brought forth a smile to Relena. Though she knew that expecting Heero or even Wufei to join them would be akin to expecting a miracle, Relena was happy to at least get a few of their friends. Duo was still going through some last minute things leaving Relena to meet the group. She spotted Hilde wearing the ugliest sweater, fashioned with mechanical reindeers. Quatre and Trowa weren’t too far behind, carrying boxes filled with presents. Relena ushered them in, soon spotting Cathy who held a tray with something that simply smelled delicious.

What surprised her was the sight of others, people she wouldn’t usually see like Sally or even Dorothy showing up. “How did you manage to get the time off?”

“Une owed me a holiday,” - Sally responded, shoving a bottle of wine into Relena’s hands. - “Doro just so have happened to have ‘transportation’ available for me to hop on. Wufei should land in about another hour, no word on Yuy yet…”

“I don’t truly expect him.”

“Howard’s driving from LA, said he hit a jam just as he was about to cross the Las Vegas border. “ - Duo called from the stairway, hopping down the steps with ease. The others were settling in, with Hilde beelining to the kitchen to begin helping Pagan serve their meal. It didn’t matter that this was a new place for Duo and Relena, the others tended to make themselves at home as the tag along family they’d become over the years.

“Relena,” - Quatre wrapped an arm around her waist. “I need your help with something if you don’t mind…”

Judging by the near predatory look Quatre shot an unsuspecting Trowa, Relena could just guess what the help was for. - “Sure, step right into my office…”


End file.
